1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the operation of a restaurant, and in particular to an accessory for use with a video monitor based system which serves to enhance the order taking function of a pizza restaurant toward minimizing errors and maximizing customer satisfaction.
2. The Prior Art
In the past it has sometimes been difficult for a customer to visualize the actual size of the pizza ordered at a pizza restaurant. Pizza restaurants often display on a wall behind the order counter a number of different size cardboard circles corresponding to the different sizes of pizzas offered by the restaurant. In some cases a restaurant might display photographs of the different sizes of pizzas available for order to give the customer an indication of the different sizes of pizzas available at the restaurant.
While displaying plain cardboard circles is intended to convey the relative sizes of pizzas available for order and to permit a customer to compare one size to another, the “samples” are typically displayed at a such a distance from the customer so as to alter the customer's perspective and possibly preclude accurate viewing. Moreover, displaying plain cardboard circles does little to convey the actual pizza the customer intends to order—from the many possible combinations available for order. Further, displaying photographs, while intended to be more informational, similarly may make it difficult for the customer to visualize the actual size of the pizzas, yet alone the exact pizza the customer desires to order.
Therefore it would be an advance in the art to have an apparatus whereby the actual size of the exact pizza the customer wishes to order is presented at the point-of-sale easily viewable by the customer.
One such solution is to provide a system which utilizes a video monitor at the point of purchase which is connected to the point-of-sale system and a video image generator which serves to generate/retrieve and display to the customer a visual image of the exact pizza the customer has configured. Such a solution gives the customer an image of the actual pizza the order taker has entered into the system.
However, one potential drawback of such a system is the reliance on video monitors to convey in real-time the image of the actual pizza being prepared for the customer. In order to display a life-size image of the pizza to the customer, and in particular, a life-size image of each size pizza (small, medium, large and extra large) available for order, the pizza restaurant must invest and utilize video monitors that are larger than the typical consumer monitor. Such monitors take up significant space at the order or point-of-purchase counter, and are very expensive.
Therefore it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for use in association with a video monitor that conveys the actual life-size image even when the video monitor is unable to display the entire pizza in life-size.
It is another object of this invention to provide an accessory for affixation to a monitor which serves to convey to the customer the actual size of the entire pizza in a manner which is easily be visualized by the customer.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an accessory whereby different sizes of pizzas which are available for order at the restaurant can be visualized on the monitor in cooperation with the accessory so that the customer may confirm and, if necessary, change the size of the pizza ordered to prevent error and to better suit the customer's needs.
It is another an object of the present invention to provide a display mechanism which displays the different sizes of pizzas available for order in an integrated manner which permits ready comparison by the customer and provides a better understanding of the different sizes of pizzas.
These and other objects will become apparent from the specifications, drawings and claims.